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Thursday, 23 January 2014

Sarah Marshall R.I.P.

Sarah Marshall, a British born actress who appeared on television, on stage, and in films, died 18 January 2014 at the age of 80. The cause was cancer.

Sarah Marshall was born in London on 25 May 1933. She was the daughter of actors Herbert Marshall (who appeared in Foreign Correspondent and The Razor's Edge among other films) and Edna Best (who appeared in the original The Man Who Knew Too Much and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir among other films). She made her debut on Broadway in 1951 in a revival of Dream Girl. Throughout the Fifties she appeared on Broadway in the productions Idiot's Delight, Jane, a revival of Mr. Pickwick, a revival of Charley's Aunt, The Ponder Heart, A Visit to a Small Planet, and Goodbye, Charlie.

She made her television debut in 1954 in a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of King Richard II. In the Fifties she guest starred on such shows as Kraft Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, Producer's Showcase, Studio One, Adventures of the Sea Hawk, The Aquanauts, Hong Kong, Peter Loves Mary, and The Tab Hunter Show. She made her film debut in The Long Hot Summer (1958).

In the Sixties she made one last appearance on Broadway in Come Blow Your Horn. She guest starred on such shows as The United States Steel Hour, Thriller, Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Stoney Burke, 77 Sunset Strip, The Rogues, 12 O' Clock High, The Fugitive, F Troop, My Favourite Martian, Get Smart, I Spy, The Wild Wild West, Star Trek, and Daniel Boone. She appeared in the films Wild and Wonderful (1964), A Rage to Live (1965) and Lord Love a Duck (1966).

In the Seventies she played the regular role of Evelyn Winslow on the short lived sitcom Miss Winslow and Son. She guest starred on such shows as Play for Today, Medical Centre, and Great Mysteries. She appeared in the mini-series Scruples. She appeared in the film Embassy (1972). In London she appeared on stage in productions of Children, Applause, and The Gingerbread Lady.

From the Eighties into the teens she guest starred on such shows as Three's Company, The Jeffersons, Hart to Hart, Remington Steele, and Cheers. She appeared in the films Bristlelip (1982), Dave (1993), Dangerous Minds (1995), Bad Blood (2006), and Bad Blood... the Hunger (2012).

If Sarah Marshall appeared so frequently as a guest star on American television shows, it is perhaps because she was an actress with a great deal of range. In the Twilight Zone episode "Little Girl Lost" she played a mother of a little girl who has mysteriously disappeared into the wall of her bedroom. In the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Roving River" she played the title lawyer's client, who is embroiled in a land dispute. In the Star Trek episode she played Dr. Janet Wallace, a brilliant biologist and an old flame of Captain Kirk. She was an actress capable of playing a variety of roles and playing all of them well. It should then be little wonder that she was as prolific as she was.